'It's like exercise': Lena Dunham opens up about therapy, her nude scenes and finding love

There's a reason why Lena Dunham made her character in Girls an obsessive compulsive, and that's because she had the condition herself.

And in a new interview with Marie Claire the award-winning actress and director opens up about her continual battle with neurosis and the steps she takes to keep herself mentally healthy, which include medication and therapy.

Speaking frankly, Lena, 27, says: 'There are days I totally don't feel like doing it , but it's like
exercise. Except I am more likely to go for therapy than exercise.'

Healthy state of mind: Lena Dunham says she takes medication and goes to therapy to combat her neurosis

Dunham, also maintains her healthy frame of mind with the help of prescribed medication.

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'I take a tiny bit of Lexapro [an antidepressant] and I keep Klonopin [an anti anxiety medication] in my purse just in case,' she told Marie Claire.

'But, more significantly, regular trips to the therapist she's had since the age of 16.'

Routine: Lena compares her therapy to exercise in that she must maintain it to keep feeling good

Exclusive: The interview appears in the October edition of Marie Claire

Lena also shares her reasons for exposing so much of her body in Girls, the Golden Globe winning series written and directed by herself and executive produced by Judd Appatow.

'I don't think I'd be able to do that if I didn't think it was essentially important in my contribution to the world, ' she explains. 'I don't think I'd be able to do this and put myself in all these situations on camera that are kind of humiliating and uncomfortable.

'Nobody wants to sit there doggy-style for ten hours while they shoot or whatever. It's not sexy or glamorous.'

Lena has been in a relationship with boyfriend Jack Antonoff, the guitarist in the band Fun, for over a year, but their union was totally unexpected: 'It just wasn't something that I thought would happen to me. I imagined that situation less than running a show or writing a book.

'I didn't envision someone who would understand where I was coming from in this way.'

Now the world waits in anticipation for the third season of Lena's New York based comedy series, where the stories of Hannah, Marnie, Jessa, Shoshanna will recommenced next year.

To read the feature in full, see the 25th Birthday October issue of Marie Claire, a special collector's issue, out now